From circuit design to service delivery - establishing a clinical FES service

Abstract

There are a number of components that are essential to the operation of a clinical FES service. Firstly we believe that FES is part of a treatment package and cannot be delivered by the simple provision of a stand alone device enabling the patient to treat their own stroke, MS etc. Therefore trained staff are required to deliver that service and in our experience this works best if this is a team of therapists and clinical engineers working closely together. Secondly the equipment has to be designed and manufactured to withstand the rigours of everyday life and reliability is essential. Constant patient support and education are also required and the problems that inevitably arise must be solved promptly. Patient selection is crucial. Finally data must be recorded and stored in a structured way (in Salisbury we have 1104 patients on the database and see 30 patients per week) to quantify the efficacy of treatment and to determine the design criteria for the next generation of devices.<br/